The Guy With The Coffee
by Lorelai the Coffee Slayer
Summary: “What do these people think, that they can just invade my privacy? This whole town should be a mental ward. They just have to realize that Lorelai doesn’t feel that way. Maybe I do, but she doesn’t. I’m just the guy with the coffee.” [AU] Java Junkie
1. The Guy With the Coffee

**Hey my readers! This is my first gilmore story I write, but I wrote two other fics. Be sure to check them out!**

**Summary- "What do these people think, that they can just invade my privacy? This whole town should be a mental ward. They just have to realize that Lorelai doesn't feel that way. Maybe I do, but she doesn't. I'm just the guy with the coffee." (AU) Java Junkie.**

**A/N- remember to REVIEW! Please!**

It was nearing the Fourth of July in Stars Hollow. The town was bustling with excitement: Kirk was testing his homemade firecrackers, which, if the multi-colored smoke surrounding his house was any indication, wasn't going too well, Miss Patty was vicariously living through her young ballet students, making them pirouette over and over again in their twice-daily practices, and Taylor was beginning his yearly ritual of endlessly pestering Luke, determinedly asking him to put a sign proclaiming the festivities in his diner window. Luke, of course, was counteracting this ritual with one of his own- repeatedly refusing, often using colorful language.

One morning, near the end of June, Taylor walked into the diner and sat up at the counter, a would-be casual expression gracing his face. He picked up the menu and pretended to browse through it, making thoughtful sounds every now and then.

At the other end of the counter, Luke sighed in annoyance, and walked over the spot in front of Taylor, standing there in silence, waiting.

After a moment's silence, though, he lost his patience and said in a curt voice, "Spit it out, Taylor."

Taylor looked up from his menu, a pleasantly surprised look on his face. "Why, hello Luke. I didn't even know you were there."

Luke frowned at him in disbelief. "Of course you didn't, Taylor." When he only made a sound of agreement, Luke's eyes shot heavenward, and he said, "Just say what you want to say, or get out."

Taylor looked up from the menu once more, an innocent look on his aging face. "You know, I've never actually tried your tuna melts before. Are they any-"

"Taylor!" Luke exclaimed, his voice rising over the din, "What do you want?"

Taylor frowned at him sternly. "No need to get testy, Luke," he told him haughtily. "I was just trying to make conversation."

Luke raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and Taylor sighed. "Alright, already. I came here to ask you if-"

"No," Luke interrupted, walking around the counter, holding a plate piled with hot French fries. "Here," he told the customer, setting down the plate. "I hope your arteries enjoy this as much as you do."

Once he got back to his spot behind the counter, Taylor said in an offended voice, "You didn't even let me finish, Luke. That's not very customer-friendly."

Luke rolled his eyes once more. "Listen, Taylor, we do this little bit every holiday. You ask me to put up a sign in my window for some activity or another. I say no. You ask again. I say no. You ask a third time. I say no. And every time you ask after that, I _still_ say no." He leaned onto the counter, and stared Taylor in the face. "So now you're going to ask me to put up a sign in my window for the firework display this weekend. _Again_. And since you seem to know everything, I'm sure you know that my answer will be…?"

Hopefully, Taylor asked, "That you've finally seen the light after all of these years, and not only will you put up a sign, but you'll also decorate?"

Luke snorted, and Taylor sighed. "Fine," he said poutily. "But I would like to remind you that not only are you a native citizen of Stars Hollow and you're still being very unpatriotic, but that this fine little diner of yours is located right in the middle of the town. If you put up a sign, everyone will know about it."

Luke shook his head wearily. "For one thing, Taylor, the population of Stars Hollow is like, 27. Everyone knows. And for another thing, I would really like to know what it is exactly that makes you think that I'll ever give in and there's any point in asking me."

Taylor looked up at him uncertainly, and said, "'Cause you're a big old softie?"

Luke glared at him as only someone named Luke can, and Taylor sighed.

"Well," he started slowly, trying to choose his words wisely, "I don't know if you know this yet, but Lorelai's in charge of advertising this year…"

Luke nodded dismissively as he grabbed a rag and started wiping down the counters. "Yeah, and?"

"Well," Taylor said again, this time waggling his eyebrows at him. Luke rolled his eyes. "Good grief, Taylor," he said exasperatedly, determinedly ignoring the man's moving eyebrows, "If Lorelai's in charge of it then why are you here?"

Taylor shrugged sheepishly. "Well, you see, Kirk and I had this little bet."

Luke slapped the rag down onto the counter and leaned on it heavily. "What kind of bet?" he asked in a dangerous sort of voice.

Guiltily, Taylor said, "That you would say yes to her and not to me."

Luke fought back a blush, knowing that that would only be fuel for the fire.

"Get out, Taylor," he said, resuming his cleaning.

"But-"

Luke glared at him again and said, "Unless you want me to shove al of the tuna melts in the world down your throat, I would suggest you leave. _Now_."

Taylor rolled his eyes in an aggravated sort of way. "Fine," he muttered, stalking out. "But that sign will be here eventually."

After Taylor had left, Luke sighed in relief.

It was times like these that he wondered why he had never left Stars Hollow.

---

Later that day, around noon, Lorelai walked into the diner. She headed straight for the counter, right in front of where Luke was wiping the counter off.

Dropping her purse onto the counter surface, she leaned forward, and said, "Must. Have. Coffee."

Questioningly, Luke quirked an eyebrow at her, and she said, "I'm having the worst day ever. Thus the need for coffee."

Luke rolled his eyes at her, and said, "You say that almost every day, Lorelai. It's not possible to have twenty thousand worst days, ya know."

Lorelai frowned at him poutily as he poured her a large cup of coffee. _Oh, God,_ she thought as she took a deep swallow from the cup Luke sat in front of her, _he's cranky today. Of course he'd be cranky today. Today's the day I promised Taylor I'd talk him into advertising for the stupid fireworks. And if I don't, Taylor will completely complain to the entire town about me at the next town meeting. I _hate _Taylor._

After she drank her coffee in a pouty silence, he stood in front of her again and asked, "Do you want some more?"

Lorelai brightened. "Oh, Luke. You always know exactly what to say."

He rolled his eyes once more, but nevertheless refilled her cup.

"So, Luke," she said in a sweet, persuasive voice. "How's your day been?"

"Quit with the small talk," Luke said, an annoyed look on his face. "I know why you're here, Lorelai."

Lorelai grinned at him "'Cause of your oh-so excellent coffee?"

He smirked. "Flattering, but no. Taylor stopped by today."

Her face fell a bit. "And?"

Luke shrugged. "That'd be a 'no'. I will _not _put a sign in my window. You know, I don't even see a need for the sign; everybody already knows about it! There's no need to annoy people by telling them about it over, and over, and over, and over, and-"

"Luke!" Lorelai exclaimed, laughing. "You can stop now! I get it. The sign's a no-go." Lorelai smiled inwardly at his ability to just rant at any given moment. _Yeah, he can do a pretty good rant, just like me. Not that I have a problem with ranting. It's kinda cute Especially when there's coffee to go along with it…_Lorelai paused, rethinking her thoughts._ Wait…cute? Luke? Luke's cute? _She looked down at her once-more empty coffee cup questioningly.

"This isn't Irish coffee, is it?" she asked Luke rather suddenly, interrupting his scathing retelling of his encounter with Taylor.

Luke shook his head. "Why?" he asked, sounding a bit worried. "You don't think the mix's gone bad, or anything, do you?"

She shook her head, smiling at him again. "Nah. Just wondering." Pushing her empty cup forward, she said, "Can I have just a little bit more? I swear, it'll be my last."

Luke snorted, pouring her more coffee. "You say that every time."

She gave him a mock glare. "Okay, one, I do not say that every time. And two, will you _please_ put a sign up? Please? Taylor really, really wants you to."

He rolled his eyes. "Are we on that again?" When she nodded, he frowned.

"Well, then, one, " he started, mimicking her, "Yes, you do say that every time. And two," he said, giving her a slightly disgusted look as she practically inhaled her third cup of coffee, "How can you drink that stuff, when I know you know that it's really unhealthy? And _three_," he said, cutting her off before she could retort, "I do _not_ care, nor have I ever cared, what Taylor wants."

Lorelai grinned at him. "One, this whole one, two thing will totally get confusing after a while. Two, I love it, and the love blinds me from all other ways of thinking, and, three, I've gotta get you to put the sign up in the window, or Taylor will completely bug me about it until that day I die."

Luke rolled his eyes again, wondering why he seemed to do that so much around her. "And," she continued, sensing a weak moment, "It would help me so, so much." She poked her bottom lip out, making it quiver, giving him her puppy-dog face.

Luke groaned inwardly. _The puppy-dog face. I can never resist the puppy-dog face._

"Listen, Lorelai," he said in a softer-than-usual voice, "You just don't understand the reason that I can't say 'yes'. Besides the fact that I think it's stupid."

"You're right," she said interestedly. "I don't understand. Enlighten me." She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the counter.

He sighed, and looked around the diner resignedly. "C'mon," he said, gesturing towards the back room. "I don't want anyone else to hear this."

Lorelai perked up. "Sounds juicy," she said, grinning at him as they made their way into the storage room.

Once they got into the room, though, Luke realized that he hadn't completely thought it out; he had just gotten a shipment in that day, and there were lots of unpacked boxes, which left the standing room at a minimum. They ended up facing each other, about four inches apart.

Luke developed a sudden fascination for his shoes.

After a few long moments, he finally looked up. "Ok, here's the thing. When Taylor came in today, he said that he bet Kirk that I would let you put the sign up and not let him. So I can't give in, cause then Taylor will think…too much," he said, finishing lamely. He looked down at his shoes once more.

"Oh."

Lorelai blushed at her stupid answer, but it was pretty much all she could say. _Okay, so we flirt some. Maybe a bit more than some. Maybe a lot. But I would flirt with _Kirk_ if he had coffee to give me! And Kirk isn't even anywhere near as cute as Luke is. I mean, he does _not_ think of me in that rip-my-shirt-off way. I don't know if he thinks of _anyone_ in a rip-your-shirt-off way .I mean he's Luke! And just 'cause_ I_ wouldn't mind ripping _his_ shirt off does. Not. Mean. Anything._ She paused, shaking her head in confusion. _I don't have feelings for Luke. He's my Diner Man, my Burger Boy, my Mr. Backwards Baseball Cap_. _He is just my friend, right? Of course right, God, what is wrong with me today? _Thinking back to the coffee, she decided maybe the coffee _had_ gone bad.

And while Lorelai was thinking all of that, Luke had some thoughts of his own. _God, I'm going to _kill _Taylor. In creative, painful ways. What do these town people think, that they can just invade my privacy? This whole town should be a mental ward. They just have to realize that Lorelai doesn't feel that way. Maybe I do, but she doesn't. She definitely doesn't. I'm just the guy with the coffee._

Lorelai finally broke the silence. "So, I guess the whole sign thing's a 'no'."

"I just don't want Taylor to get rich off of Kirk."

Lorelai laughed a little, before gesturing at the door. "We've been in here a while," she said, waggling her eyebrows at him in a way similar to Taylor. "We'd better get out of here, or people might start talking." She winked at him suggestively and then she giggled.

"Aw, geez," Luke grumbled, and they walked out of the storeroom.

**Ok, did everyone like that? If you want me to continue, I would be happy too, but I need some reviews and a lot of idea's to get this up and running! Help! And REVIEW! Please please please.ok, enough begging. Ok, once more, REVIEW. Ok, I'm done now, really, I am. Haha. and remember to review, hehehe.**


	2. Not So Obvious

**Wow, Chapter two already! I know, it seems like it taken so long, and I'm sorry updating is so lacking, but I have a life other then this. I hope you continue to enjoy and review this story! **

(I forgot this in the last chapter. ) Disclaimer- wow, you think I'd own gilmore girls by now, wouldn't ya?

For many, many reasons, Lorelai had hated Monday mornings for as long as she could remember. When she and Rory walked into the diner that morning, she was in a desperate need for coffee. The three-or four, or five-cups of coffee she had already that morning just weren't enough.

As soon as they reached the table nearest to the door, Lorelai collapsed into a chair, buried her face in her hands, and said loudly, "Luke! We need coffee, stat!"

Luke walked over to their table, coffee and cups in tow. Once he reached their table, he poured them each a large cup of coffee, and asked amusedly, "Want me to leave the pot here?"

She shrugged, still not looking up from her hands. "Actually, if you could just stick it in an IV and hook it up to me, that'd be great." She dramatically hit her head off the table and let sit there, unmoving.

"Usual Monday crankiness?" Luke asked nonchalantly as gazed down at Lorelai's head, still resting upon the table.

"You know us too well, Luke," Rory replied, drinking deeply from the coffee mug. Lorelai already had her first cup drained and her head back down on the table before anyone noticed.

"Mom?" she asked, shaking her mother's shoulder. "You okay?" Rory began to get suspicious when her mother just nodded, still not looking up at her or Luke.

Unbeknownst to her, Lorelai wasn't just doing this as one of her everyday bits; she was nervous. Extremely nervous, in the way that, if her dad knew, he would be all, "Honestly, Lorelai. You're a Gilmore. Gilmore's don't get nervous!"

What was she nervous about? Luke. There were evil moths swooping around in her stomach, causing weird, swooshing sensations that she wasn't used to.

_It's not supposed to be this way,_ she thought, looking through her eyelashes at the table pressing against her face. _It's Luke. I don't get nervous around Luke. That whole thing yesterday was just…not real. A fluke! That's what it was: a _fluke_. I didn't have enough coffee. Those were delusions from coffee withdrawal!_

"Mom, are you ok?" Rory repeated, getting slightly worried. Lorelai shrugged her shoulders.

"Mmhm," she said, her head still resting on the table. Before Rory could respond, Luke sat the coffee pot down uncertainly.

"I- I'll get you your usual Monday breakfast," he said, and quickly ran to safety of the kitchen. _Is she ok? I mean, we did have another one of our 'moments' yesterday…but that's never made her get all avoidy with me. I wonder if she thinks that I…feel the way I do. No; she can't know. I don't give any signs. She can't know. Although, she did seem to be acting differently…no, she doesn't feel that way, Danes. It's just stupid town rumors._

"That was kinda weird," Rory told Lorelai, her voice curious. "What's going on?"

When there was no answer, the teenager rolled her eyes. "Mom, get your head off the table." When her mother didn't respond, Rory decided to bring out the big guns. "Mom, if you don't lift up your head and tell me what's wrong, I'm gonna make sure that Luke doesn't give you any coffee for a whole month!"

What Rory didn't know was that Luke was the problem.

_I don't understand. I told myself it wasn't like that, that I didn't think about him that way. That the town was just crazy. And I actually started to believe myself until he walked over here. No. I. Don't. Love. Luke. He's my _friend

Lorelai gave a massive groan, and slowly lifted her head from the table. "Fine, fine, my head's up. What do you want?"

"What's going on with you?" Rory asked.

Lorelai cast a furtive look around the diner, and then sighed. "Fine," she said, lowering her voice. "I'll tell you. But outside."

Rory rolled her eyes as her mother took a swallow of her coffee, glanced cautiously around the room, and darted out of the door. "I gotta get her some therapy," she muttered to herself, shaking her head and following Lorelai outside.

---

Lorelai stood a few feet outside of the front entrance of Luke's, pacing back and forth nervously.

"Well?" Rory asked after a few minutes of watching her march around like an ant. "What's the deal?"

Lorelai bit her lip nervously. "I think I like Luke," she said, avoiding looking into her daughter's face.

"You _what_?" Rory was thoroughly shocked. "Luke, Luke? Like, diner Luke? The Luke with the coffee? The one who always wears a backwards baseball hat? _That_ Luke?" The town had gossiped endlessly about them for as long as Rory could remember, discussing the 'adorable possibilities,' to quote Miss Patty. Even she herself had suspected it more then a few times. But to have her mother come right out and say it was a bit…shocking.

"No, Rory. It's 'Luke, I am your father,' Luke," she quipped. "Yes, it's Luke, Luke!" At the dumbfounded expression her daughter currently wore, she added, "Maybe. I mean, it's not definite. Maybe I just have the flu, or something."

"How? When?" Rory questioned, but before Lorelai could answer, she said in a

panicky voice, "This isn't something you can be right or wrong about. Either you like him or you don't."

"But, but…I don't know!" Lorelai cried, distressed. "I've always liked him as a friend, but yesterday… I don't know, I had these, these Luke thoughts."

"Luke thoughts?" Rory asked, confused. "Were they dirty?"

"No!" Lorelai exclaimed defensively. "No, they weren't dirty!" At the dubious look Rory gave her she admitted shamefully, "Mostly." Rory giggled.

"Why are you laughing?" Lorelai asked, her voice sounding like a confused little girl.

"It's just that, it's always been so obvious." Rory said.

"What do you mean 'obvious?'" Lorelai asked, getting even more worked up.

"Nothing, I guess. It's just that okay, whoa, this is Luke. Our Luke -- the town's Luke. We see him every day. He's _Luke_. He's the guy with the coffee! He's a part of our lives. His _coffee_ is a part of our lives!" Rory said, suddenly serious again.

"I know," Lorelai said with a groan. "I know."

"I mean, everyone will know. They'll know if you're together, they'll know if you're _not_ together. You can't just date Luke. When you're with Luke, you are _with _Luke. And if it doesn't work out, it will be really bad. For both of us. I mean, how do you feel about this? Do you _want_ to be dating Luke?"

Lorelai pouted. "Okay, kid, we're getting so far ahead of ourselves here, it's not even funny. I don't even know if that's what he's thinking."

"Oh, we all know what he would say," Rory said, rolling her eyes at her mom's obliviousness. "Luke loves you. He's completely taken by you. I know it, he knows it, the town knows it. The only person who doesn't seem to be in the know here is you."

"Can we just go back inside now?" Lorelai asked, her voice sounding whiney.

"Sure. 'Course we can. My new daddy's in there," Rory said, giggling again. "Just act normal and I'll try and observe the situation."

"Okay," Lorelai said, taking in a deep breath and walking back into the diner.

As soon as they walked in, Luke popped up out of nowhere, and said, "Oh, there you guys are. I was wondering what happened to you." Looking concernedly at Lorelai, he asked, "You okay?"

She nodded dismissively, before tripping over her shoes and stumbling into him. He was carrying a load of food, and the plates dropped out of his hands, tumbling to the floor and shattering, sending eggs and sausage everywhere.

"I'll get the broom." Luke said, unfazed.

Once he had disappeared into the back room, Rory grinned at her mom. "Well, that was a little less than normal."

Lorelai frowned. "Shut up."

---

_Later, at the Independence Inn_

---

Lorelai didn't care what anyone said, running an inn wasn't as easy at it looked. Not that anyone had every really told her that it looked super duper easy, but she knew that if they had, she wouldn't've believed him.

She had been bustling around the Inn all day, answering phones, welcoming guests, plus all of her normal duties. Michele wasn't there that day; he had called in, sneezing, and cursing the flu bug in French. Lorelai had just given him that day off.

But no matter how busy she was, right after the lunch rush, she strolled into the kitchen, determined to get her best friend's opinion on her current situation.

"Hey, Sook," Lorelai greeted casually as she walked over to the chef.

"Oh hey, Sweetie!" Sookie said excitedly. "Today has been so busy! Oh, I hope they liked my pork chops! See, I put them in this sauce, and oh, it was so good, and…" Sookie loved to talk about her food.

"Hun, I'm sure they loved it," Lorelai told her reassuringly, to which Sookie smiled and blushed. "But I really have something to talk to you about." she continued seriously.

Sookie's eyes widened from worry. "What is it? Oh, is Rory okay? Are you okay? Did Emily do something?"

"No, no, everything is fine; Rory's fine, and my day's been Emily-free. I just have a little problem," Lorelai said, smiling at the woman. "Well actually, it's a big problem."

Sookie practically bubbled. "Oh, yay. Dilemmas."

"Okay, you have to promise not to get too excited, 'cause I know you're gonna want to rub this in."

Sookie rolled her eyes at her. "I promise, Lor! Just tell me what it is before I die of suspense." Sookie was already excited, and she didn't even know the news yet, but it had to be pretty serious for Lorelai to act so un-Lorelai-ish.

_This'll be interesting,_ Lorelai thought to herself. _She's told me so many times that Luke had 'feelings' for me, and I told her that it all wasn't true. She's going to rub this in my face for years to come.  
_

"I think I like Luke," Lorelai said quickly, as if she thought that if she did it faster it wouldn't be as bad, like pulling off a Band-Aid. She squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for Sookie's reply, which came rather quickly, and rather loudly.

"Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God!" Sookie squealed. "I always knew this would happen. He totally had a thing for you! Where did you go on the first date? Oh, how'd it end? Was it on a table cause I always thought it would be on a table, and-" Lorelai waved her hands wildly in the air, interrupting Sookie.

"God, Sook, calm down. We haven't even been on a date, so 'it' wasn't on a table, cause 'it' never happened. And, plus, I haven't even said anything to him yet."

Sookie's eyes practically popped out of her head. "Oh, my God! You haven't told him yet?" she asked in bewilderment. "Why not?"

"'Cause, Sookie," Lorelai said tiredly. "He's my friend. That's the way it's always been, and if something went wrong…I don't know if I could stand fighting with him again. Or worse, losing him," she said sadly. She grabbed a mug and poured some coffee, and took a sip of it. _God, this tastes nothing like Luke's coffee. Sookie's a great chef and everything, but no one makes coffee like Luke._

"But Lorelai," Sookie said softly, sensing her friend's discomfort. "It's obvious that you want each other."

"It's not obvious to me." Lorelai said, so quietly it almost seemed to be to herself.

------------------------------

**Hehehe, wow that was cool, wasnt it! Now be good little readers and REVIEW! Major props to my beta Turkey! Check out her stories! The pen name is Swishy Willow Wand, and she is the COOLEST! She's the BEST! She's the reason this chapter doesnt suck! So review and Chapter three will be up ASAP!Thanks for reading!**


	3. The Art of Avoidence

**Chapter 3! OMG I'm so sorry! I had writers block, plus, im preparing for the WORLD Champion Baton Twirling competition in Holland this April, and lately, my instuctor has been crazy, plus, schools been hectic. Oh, the daily drama of 8th grade :) AND tomorrow is my 14th birthday! So I hopeI can be forgiven. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH to my wonderful reviewers, I'm glad you liked it.**

**Disclaimer- It's ASP's, we all know that. I can only memorize every Gilmore line she ever wrote, and occasionally swoon over Scott Patterson and Milo Ventimaglia. :)**

**------**

Lorelai had been avoiding the diner like the plague.

It's not like she was a coward, or anything. She just…couldn't go in there after talking to Sookie. Because she knew, she just knew that as soon as she saw Luke again, she'd lose all of her self-control, and there would be a Babble-a-Palooza. And babbling plus Lorelai equaled ungoodness.

But it was hard. There was no good coffee in Star's Hollow! And the hamburgers? Forget 'em. The world as Lorelai Gilmore knew it was askew!

But she managed to stay strong, with the help of Rory, Sookie, and lots of instant coffee. Before she knew it, it was the day of the festival, and she was in the kitchen, choking down a cup of grainy QwickMix coffee.

"C'mon, kiddo," she yelled, looking at the stove clock. "The party started ten minutes ago."

Rory peeked her head out of her room guiltily. "Is it that late?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it's that late. What's taking so long?"

Her daughter blushed. "I don't know what to wear."

Lorelai snorted and walked into her bedroom. As soon as she stepped in, her mouth dropped open. "Oh, God, Rory."

Clothes were strewn around the normally clean room, and nothing but red, white, and blue T-shirts could be seen.

"All these options and you couldn't find a single thing?" she asked incredulously. Rory shrugged.

Lorelai gingerly made her way further into the room and sifted through a pile of clothes piled onto the desk.

"Here," she said, pulling out a wrinkled black shirt from the very bottom, decorated with a monkey and some red, white, and blue rhinestones. "And…" She bit her lip in concentration, before pulling a crumpled pair of sparkly jeans from off the floor. She thrust the clothes at her daughter.

"Trendy, casual, and you won't die of heat stroke. It was so simple, a blind hog could'a seen it."

Rory glared. "But at least you aren't condescending," she quipped. Lorelai just grinned and left, giving her daughter the privacy she needed to change.

Once Rory had finished dressing, it was seven fifteen, and they were officially late for the Fourth of July party.

"Okay," Rory said, flouncing out of her room and twirling in place. "I'm ready to go. Are we picking up Sookie?"

"Yeah, but she'll only be with us till Jackson's finished with his deliveries." She rolled her eyes and said, "They're gonna have a 'romantic evening' together. Some yadda-yadda about moonlit picnics." She shuddered at the word picnic, and Rory scoffed.

"Mom, they're in love. They're cute. They're good at being cute. Let them be cute!"

Lorelai mock pouted as she grabbed her keys and followed Rory out of the door. "But then what'll I have to be bitter about?"

They spent their walk there discussing a book Rory was reading. Lorelai was only half listening, but nodded her head every now and then, or make some sort of acknowledging noise. Lorelai was busy thinking about Luke.

Will I see him there? I know Luke isn't big on town events, but it is his town. Oh my god, what if I do see him? What'll I do? What do I say? Do I just act like I normally do? If I act any different, he will know, and I don't know if he feels the same way.

"Hey, Mom?" she heard Rory ask, stirring her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" she asked absently, her mind still lingering on her high school-like dilemma. Rory grinned.

"You can stop walking now," she said, pointing at Sookie's house, innocently sitting on their left. Lorelai blushed and halted in front of the walk leading to her best friend's home.

"Hey, Sook!" she yelled, leaning against the mailbox casually. "Get your short tail out here!"

The short woman bustled out of the already-opened door. "Hey, chickadees. Are we all set to go?"

Lorelai nodded, and Sookie shut the door behind her, and as soon as she reached them, she started talking about the delicious soufflé she had for lunch, and Rory began gushing about her book. Lorelai rolled her eyes.

Women.

When they got to the party, the sounds of music, the smells of food, and just the atmosphere made her more relaxed. These were her people, her friends, and just as soon as her shoulders began to unwind, her stomach dropped. There was Luke, sitting only a few yards away from her, on a bench talking with Andrew. He looked over at her, and their eyes locked for a brief moment.

Oh, boy.

----

Only a few minutes ago, Luke mustered up the courage to go outside. He needed to talk to Lorelai. She hadn't been to the diner in a much longer time than he had thought humanly possible for her. He waited for her to come in every day. He was really beginning to worry. Had he done something? Was she concerned about something?

I bet it had something to do with the thing in the storeroom. There was a moment in there, but she doesn't think of me that way, but maybe now she thinks I do… Oh no, get a hold of yourself Danes; you just have to calm down. Just go out to the party, she will be there. Just talk to her.

So there he was, sitting on a bench with Andrew. No offense to him, but Andrew really wasn't the most interesting person to just sit and talk to. He really wanted to talk to Lorelai. He turned his had away from Andrew and saw her. His eyes locked with hers. He couldn't look away.

----

Lorelai wasn't really sure what to do when she saw him. It's not like this was a new thing. She saw him on a daily basis, but for some reason, after that little revelation, she wasn't sure what to think.

She broke their contact, and looked over her shoulder to see if Sookie or Rory saw him. They had actually continued walking, so she hurried to catch up.

For the second time in thirty seconds, she sighed.

Oh, boy.

----

After an hour and a half had past, Lorelai was left wandering by herself, busing herself by people watching and avoiding Miss Patty's punch. Sookie had gone off with Jackson, Rory had left with Dean and Lane, and as of yet, her Luke sightings had been a total of none since she had followed after Rory and Sookie. Maybe he went back to the diner. Do I want him to be at the diner? God, this is so confusing. I probably should go talk to him.

Lorelai began to walk towards the diner, staring at her shoes. She looked up, almost knocking someone down. It took her a minute to realize it was Luke.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry. I just wasn't paying attention to where I was walking, and I was actually coming to talk to you, and well, yeah. Do you want to talk?" Lorelai was babbling, and she was aware of it, but she just couldn't stop. She was nervous, really nervous. Should she tell Luke how she felt?

"Lorelai, we do need to talk, but I think somewhere were the whole town can't hear us."

He put his arm lightly on her back to guide her in different direction. Shivers flew up and down Lorelai's spine. Luke felt her shiver a bit. "Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?" Luke asked her, concern in his eyes.

Lorelai was touched that he was so concerned. He cares about Rory and me so much…maybe liking him isn't that bad. It might be ok. He'll understand. He has to understand! I hope…

They stopped when they got to the lake, not really going there intentionally, just where they ended up. "Should we sit down or something? I have a feeling this is going to be a bit of a doozy," Lorelai quipped as she took at seat on the bridge, with her feet hanging over the edge. Luke took a seat next to her.

"You've been avoiding the diner…" Luke started. She blushed, and nodded. "Why?" he asked. I really need a straight answer from her, he thought.

"Luke, I'm…I'm sorry. I have had a lot on my mind."

"What about?" he was curious. What could be keeping her from the place with the coffee?

"Well, you see…" Lorelai stood up. She needed to pace. Walking up and down the bridge, she continued. I'm just gonna say it. I just need to say it. Luke cares about me. I know he does, I just have to let him know how I feel about him.

Lorelai summoned every bit of courage she had together. "Luke, I care about you a lot. You are one of the greatest people I know. You have been so good to Rory, and to me. You brought ice to Rory's birthday party, you made me a Santa burger, you drove me to the hospital when my dad was there, you feed Rory and me on a daily basis, you have been a guardian angel to me. I think after everything you have done, how much you care, I have grown to like it, to maybe, like you…" Lorelai stopped, stared down at the water, the red rising in her cheeks. She felt like she was in middle school again.

Luke literally had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"You…you what?"

Oh, God, she thought. He's totally wigged now.

Oh, God, he thought. Oh, God!

He stood up to face her. They were a mere 2 inches apart, and Lorelai could feel his breath on her face. They both leaned in. He is going to kiss me! What do I do? I want to kiss him!

Just as their lips brushed against each other, a loud boom was heard. They jumped apart and looked up. Fireworks lit up the sky. Lorelai took one look and Luke, and ran, not knowing what else to do.

-----

**Ok, I'm going to try to update soon! I really really really am! Reviews would motviate me! Thanks to my beta Turkey, for whom without, this story would be much more crappy. (I loooves you!) Thanksto my BFF's bri and Chloe whom i owe much love to (we watch GG together!) Ok, So, chapter 4 is in the works! REVIEW:)**

**Love always,**

**Lorelai the Coffee Slayer. 3**


	4. Apologies, Confessions, and Kisses

Disclaimer- It's ASPs. Yes, THAT ASP, the one that gets to work with the hottest men in the world (a.k.a. Scott Patterson and Milo Ventmiglia) till she quit of course. Loser.

A/N- I used a bit of the script from Say Something, just to get the "Lorelai is really upset and Rory was helping her out" kinda feel. Kay? Kay.

A/N2- Rating goes up a little for this chapter, depending on how offended you are by some words. Don't worry, it's not too bad, but there is a little.

Now, on with chapter 4, terribly sorry for the many delays. I'm still busy with baton, and I just started band camp and stuff. Blah.

**Previously on The Guy With the Coffee: **

**He stood up to face her. They were a mere 2 inches apart, and Lorelai could feel his breath on her face. They both leaned in. He is going to kiss me! What do I do? I want to kiss him! **

**Just as their lips brushed against each other, a loud boom was heard. They jumped apart and looked up. Fireworks lit up the sky. Lorelai took one look and Luke, and ran, not knowing what else to do…**

**------------------**

Luke stood dazed for a moment, still trying to comprehend that this wasn't a dream. Shaking himself awake, he ran after her. _Did I just almost kiss Lorelai? Did she seem like she wanted to kiss me too? This is crazy!_ Luke's thoughts were running wildly through his head in a completely unorganized way. He couldn't separate his own thoughts, but he continued to run after her until he lost sight of her, and was out of breath. "Damn," he said out-loud. "Great time for my track skills to be completely gone."

-----------------

Lorelai kept running, not even caring where her legs took her. She ran until she knew she was out of Luke's sight and she couldn't run anymore. Stopping to rest under a tree, she began to evaluate the situation. _Did I almost kiss Luke? Did he want to kiss me too? I can't believe I blew this by running! I should have just told him. _Lorelai started to softly cry. "I blew it, I blew it," she said over and over covering her face with her hands.

------------------

The next morning when Rory woke up, her mom wasn't downstairs drinking her usual "before-going-to-Luke's-cups-of-coffee". Confused, quickly walked into the living room. Still no Lorelai, so Rory ran upstairs to her mom's room, opened the door. Sitting on the bed was her mother. The woman who often fancied herself Wonder Woman, lying in bed, crying.

"Mom, what the heck is going on?" Rory said a bit on the freaked out side.

Lorelai sniffed. "Nothing, Sweets. Go back to bed," She snuggled farther into the covers.

"It's 11:30 in the morning. Why are you crying?" her brow furrowing in even more confusion, she walked over to the bed and lay down next to her mom.

Rory gave her the You-better-tell-me-right-this-instant-or-else face. "It's Luke…" Lorelai began.

"What about Luke, Mom?" Rory further questioned her. Getting more confused by this every moment.

"I…" Lorelai sniffled again. "He hates me. I blew it. I blew everything."

"What do you mean you blew it?" Rory still questioned, staring Lorelai in the eye, not giving her a chance to get away.

"I told him I liked him, as in, 'more then a friend way'," Lorelai choked out before sobbing again,

"Why is that a bad thing?" Rory inquired. "We've all been waiting for this for years! Including Luke!" she exclaimed.

"Because!" Lorelai persisted. "The fireworks split us apart before we kissed, and he probably thinks I'm some sort of psychopathic, whorish, slut!"

"Luke would **never** think anything but the best of you Mom, now…try to sit up. This isn't you. Lying in bed like this. You should be up," Rory tried to coax her up.

"No, he hates me, and I can never go to Luke's again. I can never leave the house, the whole town will know I tried to kiss him!" Lorelai stated with a resolved look on her face.

"Mom, don't be like this. Don't be stubborn. You like Luke, and I know he likes you too." Rory comforted.

"No, he doesn't. He thinks a…a…stupid slut! That's what he thinks!" Lorelai yelled. "I'm just stupid."

"You are **not **stupid, so stop saying that," Rory demanded. "I'm not going to let you sit here. Let's go over to Sookie's," She suggested.

"I'm not hungry," Lorelai grabbed her stomach while it growled, obviously asking for some food.

"We are getting you food," Rory said, grabbing her mother's arm and pulling her out of bed.

------------------

_4 days later…_

_----------------------_

Lorelai was once again, not going into the diner. Luke was beginning to let his own thoughts get to him. All he could think about was the almost-kiss. _I shouldn't have taken advantage of her like that. I shouldn't have tried to kiss her, I scared her way, and now she won't come to the diner, **again**. I've screwed this up so bad… _

On the adult side, unbeknownst to both of them, the other was blaming themselves for everything. Luke blamed himself, thinking Lorelai hated him now, and Lorelai blamed herself, thinking Luke thought she was a slut or something. On the kid side, Rory needed a way to get them to talk. Jess was just sick of Luke being so mopey and cranky, at least that's what he said. He really does care about his uncle's happiness.

Jess knocked on the door of the Gilmore's house. "Hey Rory, you ready to go?" Jess said after giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Rory looked at him apologetically. "I might have to cancel plans tonight. My mom kinda isn't feeling well, and I don't wanna leave her alone." She wasn't exactly lying to Jess. Lorelai wasn't feeling good. She refused to talk about it again.

"No, sweetie." Lorelai countered. "You should go, I'm fine, really." Rory started to say something, but Lorelai didn't let her. "No arguments. Now go out on a date with your boyfriend." Lorelai told her, with a small smile creeping on the edge of her mouth.

As they walked down the driveway, Jess lowered his voice, "Luke isn't exactly feeling like himself lately either. After a while I got sick of it, and just asked him what the hell was wrong, and he told me. It's not a good situation." Jess paused for a second. "What's your plan on helping these two kids get together?" he added with a smirk.

"Well, I don't have a plan yet, but I'd love to discuss it over dinner if you would so kindly join me." Rory said, giving him a slight bow.

"Why, that sounds lovely Ms. Gilmore." Jess said, returning the bow. Rory giggled and Jess smiled. He loved this stuff about her.

------------------------

Luke's apartment was a mess. Not that he minded a little untidiness, but it was just the fact that his mind was wandering so much he couldn't keep focused on one thing. He got a lecture from Taylor today about paying attention to people when they were speaking to you. Little did Taylor know, Luke tuned him out every time he spoke, not just today.

This was slowly driving him insane. _I can't just sit here anymore. _He thought. _I need to check on her. I need to know what she's thinking. Rory's out with Jess, so she's most likely by herself…_

With all the resolution Luke had in him, he sat his half-drunken bottle of beer on the kitchen table, picked up the keys to his truck, and headed out the door of the Diner.

---------------------------

_Of all the times for her to lock the damn front door._

Luke walked around to the side of the Gilmore household and tried the side door, until he remembered that he had fixed that lock 2 weeks ago. His eyes slowly wandered to the tree, and how close it was to one of the windows. It's a good think he was a little drunk…

-----------------------------

Lorelai was clutching her pillow curled up in the corner of her bed. She could have sworn she heard someone right outside her window.

"Ahhhh!" Lorelai screeched, jumping up and madly swinging the pillow at the window that was being opened.

"Hey! Lorelai stop! It's me!" Luke was yelling at her while trying to cover his head. It may only be a pillow, but she was smacking him with everything she had in her.

Lorelai was practically panting. "What the **hell **do you think you're doing! You don't just sneak in through peoples windows!" Lorelai was pretty much on the verge of freaking out. She went and sat down on her bed. _What is he doing here? Ok, I need to calm down._

"Look," Luke tried to calmly start talking to her. He really had no idea what he was going to say, so he just let it flow. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry if I hurt you in some way. I'm sorry if you didn't want me to try and kiss you. I don't want to ruin the friendship we have. These past few days have been hell waiting for you to walk in the diner. The other day, when you said you liked me, maybe as more than a friend, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I really do care about you, but I would be perfectly fine if you just wanted to forget that ever happened." _Ok, _Luke thought. _I wanted to say something, not everything._

Lorelai stared at him for a moment. She wasn't sure what to do, or to think, so she stood up and just looked at him for a minute. The net thing he knew, Lorelai was hugging him, just standing there with her arms around his waist, and he felt her shake, like she was crying._ Oh jeez. Great job Danes, you made her cry._ Luke put his arms on he back and rocked her back and forth for a while. Soon, he felt her letting go and she looked up at him.

Lorelai's voice was quiet, but she looked Luke straight in the eye. "Luke, I was so worried you thought I was stupid or something. I was afraid to face you. I really wanted to kiss you that night. Everything I said was true. You've been here for Rory and me far more times then anyone else. And lately, I've felt differently around you, at first I didn't understand it, but then I remembered how Miss Patty and Babette, and everyone else always said you had a thing for me, and well--"

But before she could finish, Luke's lips were on hers, and finally, for the first time in almost a week, she felt like she was where she needed to be: in the arms of **her** guy with the coffee.

**And that's chapter 4 everyone! I plan on having one last chapter. I'm not sure how long it will take though. Bear with me. For those of you who sent me messages about the baton competition, you'll be happy to know that we won, and your writer is a world champion! Thank you so much for the support! Please remember to review.**

**Until then, **

**Lorelai the Coffee Slayer x3**


	5. Final Author's Note

**Okay, so many moons ago I had planned on writing a chapter kinda set in the future or something, but, I lost interest in it and realized I left everyone hanging. Well, I decided I kinda like the ending, so, there ya go. This is the end. It only took me like 2 years to finish. Haha. So, I'm sorry for anyone who was waiting, but this is the end of the line. Thanks for reading! **


End file.
